A HUGE Oriental buffet restaurant is moving into a Southend shopping centre, filling the space that has been empty for almost a decade.

Tangs, a Slough-based restaurant, has permission to open a branch above Metrobank in the Victoria Shopping Centre.

The restaurant will boast over 100 dishes, with cuisine ranging from China, Japan, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

The first floor unit has been vacant since the centre’s redevelopment in 2008, and represents a boost to the shopping centre, which had 26 empty units last September.

Since then, Metrobank took the former HMV unit in the store, and a host of independent shops opened up.

One of them, lingerie store Bustles Boutique, which specialises in underwear for cancer patients, believes the new store will be a fillip for the centre.

Alison Hawkins, co-owner of the shop, said: “This will give a real uplift to the centre, because we don’t have many places to eat, and if you look at the likes of Bluewater, Lakeside, and Westfield, they all have food courts, so this will make a big difference to the centre.

“I think it will prolong the day as the centre does get a bit quiet from 4.30pm onwards.”

She said her store, which opened earlier this month, is doing well.

She added: “We’ve done fantastically well and we’ve had a great response. The first Saturday we opened up, we had about ten people queuing outside the door.”

Tangs, which is understood to be opening before Christmas, will have an entrance and waiting room downstairs, accessed next to Metrobank.

The other entrance to the huge restauarant will be from the first floor of the shopping centre.

In their planning statement, Tang’s consultants GL Hearne pointed out that there are only two restaurants in the centre – Wimpy and the Victoria Cafe.

Ryan McTeggart, from the firm, wrote: “It could therefore be argued this section of Southend town centre has a limited provision of restaurants, notwithstanding the offer in the remainder of the centre. It is considered an A3 use of this site would benefit the High Street through diversification of the current town centre uses and assisting with attracting footfall.”

John Ginsberg, who owns cake decorating firm Sugar & Co, which moved into the centre last month, added: “I’m hopeful this will bring new tenants to the centre, as well as new customers that will benefit of us who are already here.”

Tangs did not respond to the Echo’s request for information.